Poem During the Plague: Poem 35

Celia Merlin

Born in Lexington, Ky., and raised in Buffalo, N.Y. Celia Merlin studied French and English Lit. at SUNY at Buffalo followed by an MA in TEFL at Tel Aviv University in Israel.  She has won numerous honors including prizes in four Reuben Rose Memorial International Poetry Competitions, The Miriam Lindberg Competition for Peace, and The 2012 Cyclamens and Swords Poetry Competition. Celia has led workshops and given readings at Tel Aviv University and other venues. A selection of her work can be found in her debut poetry collection entitled "Of This Too", as well as in various anthologies. She has made Israel her home- writing, teaching and raising a family.

Breaking and Entry

I don't lock my

front door anymore.

No burglars on

the streets tonight.

Crowned, spikey smoke

passes through the keyhole.

No breaking and entry,

no shards of sharp glass

on the floor.

Quiet.

The ultimate thieves.

Wearing no masks,

carrying no weapons,

stealing no hidden jewels

inside socks, they leave the

drawers and the closets alone,

wanting only to take

my lungs.